[Sca-cooks] Thoughts on food as medicine

Johnna Holloway johnnae at mac.com
Fri Jan 14 05:29:39 PST 2011


Don't know if you are interested but the Mauriceau, Diseases
is featured at:

http://historical.hsl.virginia.edu/treasures/mauriceau.html

The English edition of his book The Diseases of Women with Child ...
  By François Mauriceau, Hugh Chamberlen from 1727 is up on Google  
Books.
(His dates are 1637-1709)
Searching under the term iron in the book turns up some other calls  
for iron
in water. Using the plain text function (and you should check the  
actual text versus the plain text}

page 60 discusses vomiting during pregnancy--
To hinder this Vomiting from afflicting the Woman much, or long, (it  
being very difficult to hinder it quite) let her use good Food, such  
as is fpecify'd before in the Rules of Diet 5 but little at a time, that

the the Stomach may contain it without Pain, and not be constrained to  
vomit it up, as it must when they take too much, because the big Belly  
hinders the free Extension of it; and for to comfort and strengthen it  
(being always weak) let her season her Moat with the Juice of Oranges,  
Limons, Pomgranates, or a little Verjuice or Role-Vinegar, according  
to  her Appetite. She may take likewise a Decoction made of French  
Barley-Flower, or good Wheat-Flower, having dried the Flower a little  
before in an Oven, mixing the Yolk of an Egg with it, which is very  
nourishing, and of easy Digestion: She may likewise eat after her  
Meals a little Marmalade of Quinces, or the Jelly of Gooseberries ;  
let her Drink be good old Wine, rather Claret than White, being well  
mix'd with good running Fountain-Water, and not that which hath been  
kept long in Cisterns,as is most of the Water of our Fountains of  
Paris., which acquire by that Stay an evil Quality: If she cannot get  
such fresh Water, let her rather use River Water taken up in a Place  
free from Filth, in which she may sometimes quench hot Iron: Above  
all, let her forbear all fat Meats and Sauces, for they extremely  
moisten and soften the Membranes of the Stomach, which are already  
weak enough, and relaxed by the Vomitings j as also all sweet and  
sugared Sauces, which are not convenient for her, but rather such as  
arc a little sharp, with which it is delighted and comforted.

But if notwithstanding these Precautions, and this regular Diet, the  
Vomiting (as it sometimes happens) continues still, altho' the Woman  
be above half gone, it is a clear Sign there are corrupt Humours  
cleaving to the Insides of the Stomach

----
With regard to miscarriages and losing a child- page 80
and accustom her self to good Food of easie Digestion, and little at a  
time, that so her Strength may be able the easier to concoct and  
digest it; she should drink a little deep Claret-Wine, mixed with  
Water in which Iron hath been quenched, instead of Ptijan, which is  
not proper in this Case, provided she have not a strong Fever j for if  
it be but a small Fever, Wine on this manner is to be preferred,  
forasmuch as the fewer she hath at that time, is but fymptoma* tick,  
caused by this Debility of Stomach, and will vanish as soon as this is  
fortified j which will be yet more promoted, if the Woman before and  
after Meals takes some Corroboratives, as a little of that Burnt-Wine  
we mentioned for the Cough in the ifth Chapter of this Book j or a  
little good Hippocras, or right Canary, of any of them according to  
her Palate j neither will it be amiss if she eats a little good  
Marmalade of Quince before Meals: She may likewise wear upon the Pit  
of her Stomach a Lamb-Skin with the Wools, to preserve it, and augment  
its natural Heat, which is very necessary to digest  Food; Food j *  
observing above all, to give no purging Medicine, when  this Flux is  
only caused by Weakness, lest it be thereby augmented.

page 81 continues--

If it be a Diarrhœa, ..... snipped

but if it continues above four or five Days, it is a Sign then that  
there are ill Humours contained and cleaving to the Inside of the  
Guts, which provoke them often to be discharged, and ought to be  
removed with some purging Medicine that may loosen and evacuate them,  
after which the Flux will certainly cease, some light Infusion of  
Senna and Rhubarb, with Syrup of Succory, or an Ounce of  
Diacatholicon, with a little Rhubarb for a Bolus, to be taken in a  
Wafer.

But if, notwithstanding fit Purges and a regular Dyet, this Flax  
continues, and changes into a Dyfenteria, the Patient voiding every  
Moment bloody Stools, with much Pain and Needing, she is then in great  
Danger of miscarrying, and its Prevention ought to be endeavoured, if  
possible. Therefore, after having purged away the ill Humour, (with  
the Medicines' above-mentioned) which were in the Guts, and hindring,  
by a good Dyet, that no more be engendredj to which purpose let her  
use good Brooths made of Veal or Chicken, with cooling Herbs, to  
temper the Acrimony of these hot Humours ;."let her eat Pap with the  
Yolk of an Egg new layed, being well boiled: Such Dyet softens and  
sweetens the Guts within. Let her Drink be Water, in which Iron or  
Steel was quenched, with a little Wine, if she be not feverish, for  
then half a Spoonful of Syrup of Quince or Pomegranates is better to  
mix with the forefaid Water ; She may likewise eat a little Marmalade  
of Quince, or other Astringents and Strengthners, provided her Body  
was well purged before:

The advice that you cited can be found on pages 85 and 86.

Wine and water in which iron is quenched is also mentioned on page  
261and 248.

---

The 1975 Eshleman paper is cited very infrequently, so a citation  
search only turned up this possible other paper that might be of  
interest.

Abel EL  "Who goes drunk to bed begets but a girl": The history of a  
Renaissance medical proverb  JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND  
ALLIED SCIENCES  54  1  5-22  JAN 1999

It's English based but Audrey Eccles 1982 work Obstetrics and  
gynaecology in Tudor and Stuart England might be of interest.

Hope this helps

Johnnae




On Jan 13, 2011, at 6:38 PM, Raphaella DiContini wrote:snipped lots  
from an interesting post-
>  reading "Diet during Pregnancy in the
> Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries by MICHAEL K. ESHLEMAN" was a  
> mention of
> something I had seen before in Italian sources (this article is  
> fantastic but is
> focused on English sources).

> One of the things that jumped out at me in this
> article is a list of diet recommendations for women who are weak and  
> thin or
> experiencing blood loss (with their capitalization, but my  
> emphasis)-" A
> strengthening and cooling Diet, feeding on Meat that breeds good  
> Blood and
> thinkens it; as are good Broths made with Poultry; Necks of Mutton,  
> Knuckles of
> Veal, in which are proper for her: *Ler her drink the Water in which  
> Iron is
> quenched*, with a little syrup of Quince... " From Mauriceau,  
> Diseases.
>



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